The perfect guide to Rotterdam

I’ve been living in Rotterdam for more than 7 months now. However, I am not new to this cool city, I’ve been coming here pretty much my whole life and studied here for over 4 years. I’ve really grown to the city and I always knew I wanted to live here some day… and here I am. Rotterdam is such a fun city, there’s always something to do or new to explore. That’s why I created a little city guide with my favourite parts and places to visit.

Where to eat:

– De kade. At this Asian and Surinam restaurant you can get a vegan and a meat/fish menu. This is a perfect restaurant for vegans with friends that still want to eat meat or fish. They have a lot of options. I have to be honest, I don’t think the restaurant is the restaurant you will go to for the vibe (kind of like a take-out restaurant really). Their vegan sweet and sour ‘chicken’ is my favourite on the menu.

– Bertmans. Bertmans offers a healthy but delicious variation of dishes. They make a great avocado toast and their Risotto is so good. Oh and don’t forget to try the polenta fries.

– Sue. Sue is famous for their sweet, vegan and sugar free bites. But at their restaurant they have a lot of amazing vegan options like tuna melt, scrambled eggs, pancakes with ‘bacon’ and spring rolls. Their menu is always changing so it’s fun to go back and try something new. I’ve never had anything I didn’t like and it’s a place I visit quite often.

– Spirit. Spirit is almost like an canteen where you can get your food at a bar and pay by weight. They have absolutely the most delicious food, vegan and vegetarian.

– Burgertrut. If you like burgers, this is the place. This joint has the famous ‘kapsalon’ that you should definitely try. I like myself a good burger and so do my not vegan friends, so I am happy I can enjoy a vegan burger at Burgertrut without having to go to an all vegan place.

– La Pizza. Haven’t been in a while but planning to go for my birthday. I mean, pizza and wine. Yes!

Where to have drinks:

– DR. Hidden cocktail bar.That’s pretty much all I am going to say.

– Suicide Club. The best rooftop bar in Rotterdam so you can have drinks with a view. The terrace is pretty amazing and so are the drinks.

– Stirr. Want something special? The shakers at Stirr know how to make a good drink. I love to come here with a small group of friends. Go early because it’s usually busy.

Where to shop:

– Imagine by Kim. A cute boutique store near one of my favourite streets. Need to go to a cool party or festival? Make sure to stop by Imagine.

– Mystiek. If you are into spirituality like me, you wil definitely need to stop by at Mystiek. You can go in for a reading or just get lost between all the books and crystals.

– Keet. Keet is a mini warehouse with differents brands and sellers. They have a lot of jewellery, interior stuff and just things you want to have. You can also get a coffee in the store. Cute place.

– Gimsel. Probably my favourite place to shop for groceries. Yes they are a little but pricy but they have a lot of stuff you can’t find anywhere else. They don’t sell any weird products with lots of artificial stuff so if you want to be more mindful about what you eat, I suggest you to go to Gimsel.

Where to sleep:

– The James. I recently had the best stay at The James. It’s in the middle of the city centre (Aert van Nesstraat 25), near all the shops and restaurants. It’s the perfect hotel if you want to book a staycation or just want to explore the city the right way. My friend and I stayed at the junior suite and we had the BEST view. We spend most of our time in the room, eating chocolate and doing a face mask. I would definitely recommend to stay here if you want to be able to do Rotterdam right. I also have a 10% discount code JosieJames.

Let me know if you like this guide and if you have been to Rotterdam before :-).